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Internal Communications: Lessons for BP
By jrobertson | June 14, 2010
Like many of you, I’ve been following the tragic oil rig disaster and subsequent spill into the Gulf. While companies may eventually realize the importance of external communications, adequate communications with employees is often lost when a crisis occurs.
I’ve worked for a few companies who’ve had their share of crises that were either self-inflicted or out of their control. Consequently, I’ve seen some best practices that BP – who seems to suffering from both –may want to leverage for communications with its employees:
- Care. This may seem obvious, but the history of business is rife with examples of companies that didn’t see the need to communicate with employees. The reasons cited are more often “it doesn’t affect them directly” and “fueling the water cooler talk just causes lower productivity.” However, the reality at BP is that productivity is already suffering. Their employees are consuming news far more than the average person because it’s about their company. They are also hearing it in their social communities, networks and from others within the company. Multiply this by 96,000 (latest BP employment count) and you have the makings for quite a productivity problem.
- Listen. During crises, employees want information and they want to be heard. Don’t guess on what they are thinking, engage them directly. Toyota, despite its missteps, has a plan in place for internal communications, and by their accounts they are seeing the positive results of doing so. Even if “I don’t know” is the best response you can give them to their questions; employees will appreciate that you took the time to hear them and respond.
- Acknowledge. It’s ok to be empathetic, even if the company doesn’t think it’s at fault. Just acknowledge what the employees are feeling (hint: you learn this from listening). BP finally seems to be doing this to some degree with the clean-up workers.
- Be Timely. The goal is to be the information source your employees trust. If there is news, make sure employees hear the company’s version of the story first. This makes you appear transparent and open. It can be challenging to do, but when it’s built into the plan, it can be done successfully.
A great example is this earnings video from Cisco Systems CEO, John Chambers. This was completed in November 2008, right in the middle of the economic free fall. In the video, Chambers provided a steady voice and outlined a plan in the face of tremendous uncertainty. What’s interesting to note is that this video was made available to partners, shareholders and the press as well.
Even though BP is now being proactive and acknowledging mistakes, their initial approach of minimizing the event, not taking accountability and limiting information really fueled the fire with the press. Time will tell if these missteps result in any long-term damage with employees. However, a strong internal communications plan will keep employees informed, keep them engaged and most importantly keep them on the company’s side. And in a time like this, BP needs all the allies it can get.
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